Wowing jurors with its attention to detail, craftsmanship, and unusual energy visualization system, New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington) received first place today in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Engineering Contest for its First Light house.

“The New Zealand house was beautifully executed, with extreme attention to detail and craftsmanship and an intuitive tree-ring visualization system, which makes it easy to understand energy use throughout the house,” said Engineering Contest juror Dr. Hunter Fanney, chief of the building energy and environment division of the engineering laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Coming in second place, Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology received praise from the Engineering Jury for its forward-thinking control system with ultimate user interaction and its unique thermal envelope design that uses commercially available materials such as recycled denim.

The University of Tennessee took third place for its Living Light house, which incorporates off-the-shelf technology for heating and cooling equipment. The team also received praise for its vented double-glass façade.

According to Richard King, Solar Decathlon director, the engineering contest is very important to winning the overall competition.

“The key to winning the Solar Decathlon is getting the house to perform well in the measured contests, which account for half of the points available,” King said. “The best-performing house is a well-engineered house, which is why the Engineering Contest is so important.”

For the Engineering Contest, the jury evaluated the houses on:

• Functionality – To ensure the energy and HVAC systems function as intended
• Efficiency – To measure how much energy the house would save over the course of a year relative to using conventional systems
• Innovation – To gauge the design solutions and their true market potential
• Reliability – To assess the systems and how well they operate at a high level of performance
• Documentation – By reviewing drawings, a project manual, and an audiovisual engineering presentation that accurately reflect the project as constructed on the competition site.

For full scoring details, visit the Engineering Contest scores page.

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Construction of the solar village on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park continued today, as student teams worked throughout the day and night to assemble their competition houses for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

While always a top priority at the Solar Decathlon, safety is particularly important during this seven-day construction phase. At today’s daily team meeting, Lee Ann Underwood, Solar Decathlon safety officer, praised the following teams for their excellent safety practices:

• New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington)
• Tidewater Virginia (Old Dominion University and Hampton University)
• Canada (University of Calgary)
• Parsons NS Stevens (Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology)
• The University of Tennessee.

As of this meeting, 12 of the 19 team houses had passed their foundation inspections, with the University of Tennessee and Team China (Tongji University) leading in the number of building inspections passed.

Unfortunately, only part of Team Massachusetts’ house has arrived. The team members expect the rest of the house to arrive tomorrow.

A member of Team Massachusetts demonstrates good humor while standing in the empty lot where her team house will be assembled. (Credit: Carol Anna/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

The truck carrying the foundation footings for Florida International University finally arrived, and the team was busy today setting the foundations.

Michele Markovits, project engineer for Florida International, couldn’t say enough good things about neighboring teams, whose generosity included Parsons NS Stevens, who helped by buying gas for their generator; Tennessee, who helped charge a battery and accepted safety glasses in return; and Appalachian State, whose loan of surveying equipment helped the team set its foundation footings.

Michele Markovits, project engineer for Florida International University, and other team members work on the foundation footings for their house. (Credit: Carol Anna/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

“Our fellow teams have been so generous, They’ve shown truly great sportsmanship,” Michelle said. “It’s important to all of us that we make it to the finish line.”

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Editor’s Note: This entry has been cross-posted from DOE’s Energy Blog.

In honor of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon—which challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive—we are profiling each of the teams participating in the competition.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is participating in its first Solar Decathlon with Living Light. Named for its brightly sunlit, double-facade glass system, the house’s blueprint was inspired by the cantilever barns of Southern Appalachia, which feature giant eaves to provide shade and a two-core design.



The floor plan revolves around the two wooden cores at the base, which allow for an open living space in the center. The house includes one bedroom, one bath, a living room, and a kitchen. More space is available for dining and recreation, along with an outdoor patio area and garden for growing small crops.

The double-facade glass system is used for natural lighting and to keep temperatures cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The facades are built with an inner insulated glass panel and an outer pane with an air barrier, which also holds the windows’ blinds.



Living Light is engineered for a two-season setup. In the summer, the ventilation system uses the facades to take in cool air from the north and exhaust warm air out the south. In the winter, this is reversed so preheated air is brought in through the south facade and cooler air exhausted out the north. Two mini-ductless heat pumps located in each of the cores and an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) also facilitate this process.



Of course, the real engine of Living Light is its 10.9-kilowatt solar array atop the roof that also acts as a shading trellis. This array powers all of the electric appliances, including an oven, cooktop, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, home entertainment systems (television and sound system), the mini-ductless heat pumps, and the ERV, along with the most exciting feature—a home automation system that can be run from an iPad. Tennessee expects the house to require just half the electricity generated from the array and suggests using the rest to charge an electric vehicle or even sell back to the utility company.



As mentioned, the home automation system brings a digital flare to energy efficiency with a state-of-the-art iPad application. The interface allows the homeowner to manage mechanical systems, lighting, and even the home entertainment systems—all while tracking Living Light’s energy usage using only her fingertips.



Living Light is less than 750 ft², as it’s designed for easy transport. The one-piece house will be transported to Washington, D.C., for the Solar Decathlon by becoming its own trailer via attached wheels and a gooseneck. Post-competition, Tennessee will use the house for further research on energy efficiency at the university.

Erik Hyrkas is a correspondence writer for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.